New York, March 30, 2012--Authorities in Chongqing must
clarify the status of a journalist who reports say was secretly sentenced to
prison in 2010 for criticizing a government official in a personal blog, the
Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ has not been able to
independently confirm the journalist's jail sentence or his whereabouts.

The political ouster of Bo Xilai, Chinese Communist Party
top dog in the major southwestern city of Chongqing, has been making headlines
around the world. Bo notoriously silenced critics like investigative journalist
Jiang Weiping, but the shoe
is now on the other foot, at least for a while.

Many China watchers are familiar with Bo because he was in
line for a position in the inner circle of Chinese politics, until state media
announced his replacement last week. CPJ has reported on Bo for different
reasons. Jiang, CPJ's 2001 International Press Freedom Award winner, spent five
years behind bars in China, after revealing several corruption scandals
involving Bo, a former mayor of Dalian city and then governor of the province,
Liaoning, where Jiang worked.